Tag Archives: Voluntary Madness

Page seven reads [in part]: “My doc and I tried a lot of
other medications along the way, and I had all the classic side effects. I
went hypomanic on the Prozac, so we added mood stabilizers
to even me out. I lost interest in sex, so we tried anotherantidepressant, Wellbutrin, to bring me back. We switched,
jiggered, and recombined, looking for that perfect pickle. But if one
thing didn’t give me a rash or panic attacks, then it made me gobble salty junk
food in the middle of the night. I tried most of the majors, and burned
through their effects. I got scrawny, then fat,
petrified, then out of control, sexless, then
sex-obsessed.”

“Eventually the dope just doesn’t work the way it used
to. Even Klonipin needs a boost to keep hammering you. And that’s
when they start referring to you in whispered tones as ‘medication-resistant’.”

So I ended up in the bin that
first time, to do some serious recalibration. I was all used up.

In the space of a few years, I went from being just
another twenty-something have a good old-fashioned life crisis to being a
pscyhotropic junky.”

Page 280 [ 3rd paragraph] reads: “I
know that when I go off medication I feel far worse than I ever felt
before I took it, and I have never been able to stand the downside for
more than a few months, so I don’t know how long my brain
might take to recalibrate, if it can.”

Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Loony Bin
(Hardcover)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers
WeeklyVincent’s first trip to a mental institution­to which the
writing of Self-Made Man drove her­convinced her that further
immersion would give her great material for a follow-up. The grand tour consists
of voluntary commitments to a hospital mental ward, a small private facility and
a boutique facility; but Vincent’s efforts to make a big statement about the
state of mental health treatment quickly give way to a more personal journey. An
attempt to wean herself off Prozac, for example, adds a greater sense of urgency
to her second research trip, while the therapists overseeing her final treatment
lead her to a major emotional breakthrough. Meanwhile, her fellow patients are
easily able to peg her as an emotional parasite, though this rarely stops them

Page seven reads [in part]: “My doc and I tried a lot of
other medications along the way, and I had all the classic side effects. I
went hypomanic on the Prozac, so we added mood stabilizers
to even me out. I lost interest in sex, so we tried anotherantidepressant, Wellbutrin, to bring me back. We switched,
jiggered, and recombined, looking for that perfect pickle. But if one
thing didn’t give me a rash or panic attacks, then it made me gobble salty junk
food in the middle of the night. I tried most of the majors, and burned
through their effects. I got scrawny, then fat,
petrified, then out of control, sexless, then
sex-obsessed.”

“Eventually the dope just doesn’t work the way it used
to. Even Klonipin needs a boost to keep hammering you. And that’s
when they start referring to you in whispered tones as ‘medication-resistant’.”

So I ended up in the bin that
first time, to do some serious recalibration. I was all used up.

In the space of a few years, I went from being just
another twenty-something have a good old-fashioned life crisis to being a
pscyhotropic junky.”

Page 280 [ 3rd paragraph] reads: “I
know that when I go off medication I feel far worse than I ever felt
before I took it, and I have never been able to stand the downside for
more than a few months, so I don’t know how long my brain
might take to recalibrate, if it can.”

Book Excerpts

BOOK TESTIMONIALS

"VERY BOLD AND INFORMATIVE"

"PRICELESS INFORMATION THAT IS GIVING ME BACK TO ME"

"THE ABSOLUTE BEST REFERENCE FOR ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS"

"WELL DOCUMENTED &
SCIENTIFICALLY RESEARCHED"

"I was stunned at the amount of research Ann B. Tracy has done on this subject. Few researchers go to as much trouble agressively gathering information on the adverse reactions of Prozac, Zoloft and other SSRIs."
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